Afflecks is at the heart of the Northern Quarter success story. Home to 70 independent and unique businesses, it’s one of Manchester’s most loved cultural icons.

Originally Afflecks was owned by R Lomas, a manufacturer of cloaks and other loose garments to be worn over clothing (known as mantles). It later became C&A, which soon moved next door intoo what is now Sachas hotel. The Smithfield Building across from Afflecks palace on Church Street was originally the home of Affleck and Brown, a drapery business but over the years, for reasons unknown, the two buildings have merged in the passages of time and whilst Afflecks takes its name from its neighbour, it was not its home. 

Purchased in the early 80s, Afflecks was in a dilapidated part of town which had been left floundering in the wake of the opening of the Arndale Shopping Centre on nearby Market Street. Whilst most people were rapidly vacating the area, in 1982 a 25-year lease was signed with James and Elaine Walsh and Afflecks Palace was born. The business model that followed was a unique one - weekly all inclusive, affordable rents. The DIY culture that blossomed under these flexible terms lead to the revival of the area into the city’s most interesting district. 

In fact, it was specifically the DIY culture of Afflecks coupled with the creative residents of nearby Cromford Court (social housing maisonettes on the roof of the Arndale) that encouraged Manchester City Council to develop  the Northern Quarter into the place we know today. In 1992 Liam Curtis became Manchester City Council’s Artist in Residence, and his brief was to cover the ‘Stevenson Square/Oldham Street Area’. As part of this role Curtin founded a board of like-minded artists, businessmen, and community members who operated as The Eastside Association. Their collective mission was to draft a report of suitable locations for public art around the northeasterly part of the city in order to create a buzz about the creativity and grassroots nature of the existing businesses such as Afflecks Palace. The Eastside renamed to the Northern Quarter and a trail of public art, The Tib Street Trail, led people to Afflecks and the wider area as it rose from the ashes. 

Art has remained a huge chapter in the story of the area and Afflecks itself, outside the building’s decorated with mosaic work by Mark Kennedy from 2012 depicting cultural stories of the city. Above these sits a steel tree by blacksmith David Hyde. The tree’s roots represent the unique business model of Afflecks, and its leaves are all the artists and independents who have flourished as a result. 

Afflecks has been the home and birthplace of the best of Manchester’s subculture. It’s given rise to the careers of musicians and artists, access to affordable vintage clothing allowed budding designers shopping here to break into fashion (Tan France from Queer Eye for instance), and it’s appeared in TV (Cold Feet), film (Spike Island) and literature (The Third Rising by Hilary Mantel).  Cult figures in its history still impact today’s cultural landscape, owner of Oblong gallery was Edward Barton - who wrote One Fine Day which would later be sampled on Confide in Me by Kylie, Wayne Hemingway’s Red or Dead grew from his Afflecks store, and the locally-famous Leo B Stanley t-shirt declaring that on the sixth day God created Manchester, was made during his time running clothing label Identity, a label synonymous with the Hacienda nightclub. It’s hard to imagine the city of today had it not been for the influence Afflecks had upon it.